After a crazy cup night, I'm back with some more power rankings! 1) FC Schalke +3 It may surprise you, but this team really is performing the best of any time. This late into the season, a 3rd/4th team needed a huge push to go and fight for the title. A 5-1 against a Bayern who momentarily collapsed did just that for the blue crew. 4-1-1 in all six matches this week, a strong record. It puts them just 4 points off the leaders, and will set up an interesting final week of play! 2) RB Leipzig -1 Leipzig weren't as hot this week. Some small losses turned their title lead dominance into a scenario where they can be tied by Dortmund! This team is really strong, still, but can they get the results needed to hold onto the title? 3) Wolfsburg +2 The cup, the cup, the cup. Entering last night, they were third and a point off in the group. Exiting the night with 2 wins and a draw, they saw themselves drawing to eliminate a second placed powerhouse from the competition! This team comes alive on Tuesdays, but unfortunately, no amount of wins can nab them the title or even a top 3 spot in the league. But if their cup form continues...can they be champions? 4) Borussia Dortmund -2 Ups and Downs this week for the Yellow Army. They closed the gap to just 3 points to Leipzig in the league, and with a game in hand. They also were pretty consistent in the league this week too, 2-0-1. But the real games were in the cup. They held a group lead entering the night, lost to Bayern in what surely is the craziest game in LGFA history, and then couldn't get the win against Wolfsburg they needed to secure a spot in the cup semi-finals. The good news is this, if they can get revenge on their bitter green rivals, this side will be fighting for a title. They can also use all their assets to push for that one goal. 5) Bayern Munich -2 1-1-2 this week in the league for Bayern. Safe to say, it wasn't great. Things still looked bleak in the cup, after a loss to Wolfsburg. They needed a win against Dortmund to make sure they stayed in the hunt to make it to the semi-finals. Then, the pieces fall into place. Blind_Ref's pass to the goalie which is completely ignored (thanks to this shitty game), gives Bayern a 1-0 lead with no shots, and they hold on to secure the 1-0 win, and then beat the not hot anymore Hertha side to win them the group. This team has cup ambitions, since the league does look like it is essentially lost. 6) Köln -- Köln seems to have recovered from their woes this week. But things are far from perfect. Their from has been week, and this team seemingly is set with a mid-table or worse finish in the league. The cup run seems to not have gone well either, but this team has the talent to come back next season. 7) Hertha BSC -- Hertha started this week by spanking Leipzig 3-0. Apparently, to get that shocking win, they sold their souls and the rest of their talent to the almighty gods of Cerb, as they lost all the other 5 games that week. Sadly, their cup dreams end with 0 points. Yes, 0 points. At least they did better than Frankfurt though! 8) Frankfurt -- The real question for Frankfurt is this: are they coming back next season? If not, this season for them will go down as probably the worst of any team in LGFA history. Abysmal in the league and cup, no real huge wins and good points in the season. If they do come back though, they have core talent, and a lot of cash to try and make moves to rebuild and make a winning team. Not to mention, ACL talent in the wings that can be called up if they want. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE TITLE RACE: WHO CAN WIN, AND HOW? 1. Leipzig, 34 points, games remaining: 5, gd: +17 Their road to the title is easy. If they win in all 5 league matches, they just need to hold their goal difference advantage. If they lose once, they need to make sure Dortmund doesn't win out. If they drop more than 5 points, Schalke cannot win out. Schedule/Difficulty: Wolfsburg - Medium Frankfurt - Easy Schalke - Hard Hertha - Easy Dortmund - Very Hard 2. Dormtund, 31 points, games remaining: 6, gd: +12 They control their own destiny with a replay match against Wolfsburg. Winning it draws them level with Leipzig. They need to make sure they do better than Leipzing, and don't do worse than Schalke this week to try and win the title. Schedule/Difficulty: Wolfsburg - Hard Schalke - Hard Bayern - Hard Frankfurt - Easy Koln - Medium Leipzig - Very Hard 3. Schalke, 30 points, games remaining: 5, gd: +13 Schalke need to continue their good form to fight for a title. If either team above them wins out, they cannot possibly win the title. They really need to win at least 4 games to give them a realistic shot at the title. They need to capitalize on their matches against Leipzig and Dortmund. Schedule/Difficulty: Dortmund - Very Hard Hertha - Easy Leipzig - Very Hard Frankfurt - Medium (lost before to them) Bayern - Medium 4. Bayern, 23 points, games remaining: 5, gd: +3 Bayern really need some good luck to get the title. Winning out is their only realistic shot at the title. They could technically win it with 1 loss, but that's very, very, very unlikely that Schalke, Bayern and Dortmund won't get any wins. Schedule/Difficulty: Hertha - Easy Dortmund - Very Hard Köln - Medium Wolfsburg - Hard Schalke - Very Hard 5. Köln, 21 points, games remaining: 5 Köln need to win out. That's it. If they don't win out, their small chances of winning the title go "bye-bye." Schedule/Difficulty: Frankfurt - Easy Wolfsburg - Hard Bayern - Hard Dortmund - Hard Hertha - Easy ------------------------------------------------------------ 6. Wolfsburg, 17 points, games remaining: 6 ELIMINATED: Best possible finish --> 32 points 7. Hertha BSC, 12 points, games remaining: 5 ELIMINATED: Best possible finish --> 24 points 8. Frankfurt, 7 points, games remaining: 5 ELIMINATED: Best (im)possible finish --> 19 points MY PREDICTED FINAL TABLE AFTER THE FINAL MATCHES: (SEE COMMENT BELOW)
